Description:
Using the policy of establishing specialized intellectual property courts (IPC), this paper explores how judicial protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) affects business performance. We find that establishing IPCs has led to a 14.4% improvement in the business performance of local firms. The mechanism analysis shows that IPR judicial protection contributes to both the quality and quantity of corporate innovation, but only quality-oriented innovation drives growth in business performance. Specifically, the policy effect is more evident among firms with low innovation capacity, stronger external financial dependence, larger spillover effects, and domestic capital. Further, the corporate centralization and management structure have a moderating effect on policy effects. IPR protection significantly impacts business management decisions by compressing management's social structure and increasing equity financing